Villarreal a bigger game than derby, says Mancini

ALEX FERGUSON’S insistence that Manchester United’s annual fixtures with Liverpool remain the biggest and best in the English game looks set to be severely tested in the coming week after City’s emphatic victory over Aston Villa lifted them above their cross-town rivals to the top of the Premier League.

City must travel to Old Trafford on Sunday for the first Manchester league derby of the campaign, an encounter which will surely have far more bearing on the fate of the Premier League title than United’s draw at Anfield on Saturday.

However, for City manager Roberto Mancini, who continues to cope admirably with the mounting expectations from fans and owners who have invested an estimated £1 billion in their “project,” it is the visit of Villarreal to the Etihad Stadium tomorrow that is of more pressing concern.